


Clear Waters

by Nekomiya



Category: DRAMAtical Murder
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid, Bad Ending, M/M, mermaid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-04
Updated: 2015-05-19
Packaged: 2018-02-11 19:10:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2079825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nekomiya/pseuds/Nekomiya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Humans were interesting yet dangerous; he knew that. So... Why was he trying so hard to come closer to one? Had he fallen in love?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wondering

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kladderier](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=kladderier).



Clear closed his eyes as he settled down on his favorite spot to human watch. The feeling of the cool rocks touching his fins felt nice as the salt water brushed against the sides of his body. The rock had a ledge that was flat enough for him to rest on without having any pointy rocks prick his body. There were many different sorts of rocks to hide behind in the cave, but this was his favorite. It had a perfect view of the small beach that a few humans came to now and then. It wasn't very popular for tourists, but the people who loved the ocean with all their hearts could always seem to find it. 

The sand in that spot wasn't particularly scorching hot, nor was it completely cold like some of the other places. It was warm and felt nice against the skin- Plus, there was a few rays of sunshine that filtered through different palm trees and rocks above the cave in ways that made the sand glow. The ocean waves rippled near the sand bank yet they never raged any larger than ankle length. The water was clean and so clear that the bottom was visible with just a quick glance. Small fish and sea life often swam around that area. If one were to walk into the waters near the cave, there was an arrangement of coral of all different colors, vibrant fish, green kelp and flowering anemones decorating it. This was truly a beautiful spot to look at. 

The merman listened closely to all of the current sounds inside of the cave to the opening. The rocks covered in green algae dripped into the water below from time to time, the waves crashed into the side of the rocks and into the sand, the water rippled as fish swam by, and the seagulls that circled above with their loud cries. 

The ocean was really beautiful. It really was... 

But what was the  _human_ world like? 

He had heard from his younger brothers that they had seen a human dumping garbage into the sea and then snatching up a few of their friends to eat. He had heard from Mizuki that they had this strange liquid called 'alcohol' and when he drank some, he felt like he was floating on stars. He had heard from Noiz that the humans were simply no good at all and that the only good thing they ever did was drop metal things into their world. And of course, Toue hated them more than anything. He was the ruler of the merfolk and he refused to say anything about them to Clear. He told him that if he could have his way, then all of the humans would be destroyed. 

He knew he should have just believed everything they had said and all yet... He couldn't help himself. 

He couldn't stop himself from coming to that spot everyday and watching over the few humans that showed up. 

Sometimes, there was a group of small children running around in the waters and looking for starfish or trying to catch guppies. They were a lot of fun to watch, but sometimes he would have to secretly help them out if they weren't finding what they were looking for. Once, the smallest got a shell stuck on her hand. That was funny to watch! 

Then, some other times there was a large, rough looking man with scary eyes. He looked out across the blue ocean and carried a big harpoon gun with him or a simple fishing rod. He fished there but mainly showed up to look around... Almost as if he was searching for something. He often grunted angrily and walked away when he couldn't find what he was looking for. Oh! There were a few instances that Clear had spotted a pretty pink bird that landed on his shoulder. It was a type of bird he had never seen before... Maybe he should ask around to see what type it was. 

His least favorite visitor was a man with long black hair and always wearing something red. His face had a long red scar across his nose, and he scowled angrily. He always breathed in some sort of foul cloud of air and then drop his small white thing into the water. Once, Clear touched it and then a rash appeared on his scales. He wasn't sure what it was, but it wasn't friendly. He too had a small sparrow that followed him sometimes. It must have been nice to have a little bird companion. The seagulls were too rude for him to befriend. 

The seagulls always tried to circle him and peck on his head. They would constantly ask for food or said he was dumb! Oh, the nerve of those things! They were just rats with wings! Once, he had even made a pretty necklace out of sea weed and they ate it up. He had never been so insulted before in his life. They were huge bullies! That's exactly what they were. He hoped that they would just leave him alone one day... They were pains in the tailfin! 

Honestly... Clear didn't have a lot of fish friends. They often got fed up with his wondering about the human world and overly excited personality every time something new fell into his grip or if he saw something he had never seen before. 

One time, a human who was swimming lost their outer skin layer. It was extremely creepy to watch, but he stared the entire time. Under that strangely hot pink colored skin was the same sort of breasts that some of the other mermaids had. Did that mean this person was a mermaid too? Or did all humans have that under their strange skin layer? He could never figure it out. The taller humans did too! They would take off their skin layers and under it was a chest just like his! Although, there was a lack of scales, fins and gills... Wait, Noiz had told him before that they called those things... It started with an 'S.' Sh.... Shreets? Something like that. Whatever they were, he wanted one. Did they give them the ability to breathe on land? Or were they just for show? Did they make their skin moist? Humans were so interesting. 

After those experiences, he would rant on and on about what he had seen to either Noiz or Mizuki until they got annoyed and swam away. Well, that was no fun at all! Don't get him wrong though, he adored his 'friends' very much. Noiz had a really beautifully long yet skinny tail with shimmering jade scales and a few freckles of black scales. His fins were also just as flowing and were a mixture of both green and black. There was a marking on his left tail fin that reminded Clear of that creature called a 'rabbit' too! It was very cute. Then, Mizuki had a wide, round tail that was sort of see through at the end. It was a gradient color of a dark maroon to a bright red and every time he swam, it looked like it was a huge ribbon of pretty red. His other fins were about the same too. Clear liked to tease him and say that he was just a giant Betta fish. 

Compared to his friends, he was a little bland looking. His tail was sort of a pale green or turquoise and his scales went all the way up to a bit over his stomach. There were also a few around his shoulders too... He was extremely self conscious about how ugly his tail seemed to be compared to his friends or even little brothers with their fan-like tails. His was a boring fork looking one without any ruffles of color or glimmering different scales. It was just... ugly. He often covered his face too. He had been told that covering his face with a mask he had found on the beach was silly, but he couldn't help it. He just felt like he didn't belong there with the others. He was better off being a bit outlandish anyway. The actual ability to fit in wasn't one of his strong points. 

"Come on, this way! I found a really nice place..." 

"I'm coming, I'm coming." 

His pink hues reopened at the sound of a could of people talking. There was a voice that was sweet and high, and another that was almost captivating to listen to. It sounded like that clear sound when a crystal is hit on and then resonating its sound inside of the cave.  He peeked his head around from the rock and looked at the people coming into view. 

There was an extremely pale, small framed, and simply cute looking human with raven locks that matched their dark eyes. They looked sort of sickly and feeble... Clear wondered why he was in a place such as this one when they appeared to be ill. They smiled kindly at the other person who wasn't into view yet as they held onto their hand to pull the person closer to the beach. They were wearing an over sized ... shreet and those strange things on their human parts where their tail should have been. On their wrist was a band that he had never seen before. 

As the other human came into view, Clear's heart almost stopped. 

He was a well built young human with long, blue hair that seemed to match the color of the ocean near dusk. His eyes were a bright yellow and reminded him of the sun that reached over his head during the day and even a mixture of the moon that shown at night. His skin was tanner than the other human's and his smile took Clear's breath away. His teeth were a brilliant white that seemed to match his skin that was glowing with radiance. This person was extremely beautiful in every way. Then, he took notice to that thing inside of his arms. There was a ... 'dog' or a 'catfish' in his arms that he was hugging tightly. The creature was panting and it's pink tongue hung out as it sniffed the salty air. It looked... so fluffy and cute. He wanted to pet it so badly. 

The albino clenched onto the rock and squinted to get a better view of the humans. The beautiful one was wearing a pair of long skin and a skin shirt that was a dark blue. He was also looking around at the waters with an amazed expression upon his face. It looked like he had never seen this place before. 

"Wow... Sei, this place is really great! It's so beautiful and the air is so fresh... I can see why you like it here." The blue haired one began. 

'Sei,' responded with, "Yes... Ever since I was out of that castle here, I've been trying to look around. I found this place one night when I couldn't sleep. This place also... Um... This will sound kind of silly but..." Suddenly, the 'Sei' became very shy and looked down at his hands with embarrassment. "I don't know if I should even say this... You won't think I'm weird, will you, Aoba?" 

The beautiful human 'Aoba' smiled and put down his small rat creature to grip onto the 'Sei's' hand. 

"Of course not. You know you can always tell your brother anything. I won't judge you at all." 

Brothers? They were brothers? They looked nothing alike. This shocked Clear a bit. 

"Yeah... I know. Weeelll... I think..." 'Sei' glanced around nervously. "I think I heard a  _mermaid_ singing here. That's how I found this place. It was a really peaceful sound and... When I went looking, I heard a loud splash and then saw a tail flip out of the water." He was dead serious as he looked at his 'brother.' 

The 'Aoba' began to smirk a little and ended up laughing loudly. He squeezed 'Sei's' hand and giggled after catching some of his breath back. 

"Are you sure it was a mermaid? Or has Granny been telling you too many fairy tales?" 

"Oh... Come on, Aoba! You said you wouldn't laugh! Please stop! It's so embarrassing!" 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just can't help it. Ahh- Anyway... Do you think that mermaids are re- Ren! Stop, Ren!" 

Clear blinked with confusion and glanced at the 'Ren' who had hopped into the water. It was growling and trying to swim towards him. It wasn't swimming very well, it seemed. There was far too much fluff on that body that was weighing it down. 

'Aoba' ran into the water soon after the fluffball did and picked him up when the water sank down near knee deep. Then, he looked in the direction of where his 'catfish' was growling. He narrowed his eyes and shielded them from the sun to look into the direction of the cave. 

"Aoba, what's wrong? Why is Ren freaking out?" 'Sei' questioned with a slightly concerned tone. 

The more 'Aoba' looked, the less he was able to see, or so it appeared. 

Clear had hid behind the rock just in time before something terrible could have happened but... 

"...I don't know. Maybe it was just a fish." 

He accidentally peeked. He peeked at the wrong time. He swore that the 'Aoba' had seen him.

Clear began to panic and hid behind the rock again.

Aoba had noticed a pair of pink eyes looking at him through the dark cave and began to wade his way through the water to get a closer look. Ren's growling got louder too as he moved closer.

_Please, please, please don't let him see me!_

"Sei! Is Aoba here? I heard he came back to- Is that him in the water?" A new voice arose. 

Aoba flipped his head back to look at the offending voice and he began to smile wide. He ran out of the water and seemed to forget about what he had just seen.

"Koujaku!"

"Aoba!"

Gathering some of his courage, Clear peeked around the large rock again and saw that the angry man with the black hair had shown up. He wasted no time to also run into the water and hug Aoba tightly. They were laughing and then began to talk to themselves foolishly.

Now seemed like a perfect time to go.

He dove into the waters again and swam into the darker waters in the back of the cave. He thought he got away freely yet, he had no idea that Aoba saw a flicker of a shimmering tail splashing through the water.

"I can't wait to tell Mizuki and Noiz about this!" Clear spoke to himself after reaching a safe point.

...

"Aoba?"

"Huh? Oh... Yeah... Let's go, Sei, Koujaku."  


	2. Wishing

The albino swam weightlessly through the waters that sparked with life. Around him were countless of coral reefs and the fish fluttered around them like small birds to a branch. The fish surrounding them ranged from the brightest of pinks all the way to the purest of whites or darkest blacks. Spotted, striped, rainbow- All the fish were doing what they did best at the moment. Eating or socializing with each other. He wore a big grin on his face as he went past a few of the larger fish that were speaking to each other. 

"I finally got our son to go to school without worry." A mother anchovy said to her beloved. The other fish seemed to be pleased and swam back to some of the other parents. 

It seemed that the schools of fish were starting to get back to work. The small fish usually traveled in groups of their own kind and had hundreds of themselves together. Kind of strange actually... The turtles never went with them, and they never went with the turtles. Wouldn't it be even more fun to have more fish together? What if the schools blended in? Then maybe... there would be less amounts of predators around? Perhaps they could live life even more? 

Wait, why? 

Why did this happen again? The groups of fish never crossed paths with another. Sort of the same as when humans and merfolk never interacted. What if they could enhance each other's lives though? Was that not allowed? Would the sea split open and reek havoc? Or would the sky burst into millions of pieces and then the stars would come crashing down onto them? There were so many possibilities and lives waiting to meet, but... But no. He wasn't allowed to explore the world for what exciting things it might hold. There was nothing like that allowed at all. There was no reason nor need to want to go to the human world either. He was perfectly happy by himself in the underwater world... He still wanted to go.

He wanted to see the sun shine upon those strange flowers he had never seen up close before. He wanted to see what type of cave a human lived in and what was inside. He wanted to sleep in a tree without a care in the world. He wanted to feel the sand in between his.... If he had any human 'legs' that is. He wanted to wear those strange outer layers of skin. He wanted to have his own catfis- Dog with him. He wanted to pet a real rabbit. He wanted to talk to humans too! Speak to them normally without getting judged based off of his appearance. He just... He wanted to be apart of both worlds. 

Why wasn't there a way to try and speak to a human without having to worry about all of the terrible things they might do? What's the worst that could happen? Would they blow their foul air into his face? Or would they send a bird to peck on his head? He wasn't too worried about it. It would be fine if they could talk. The humans had the upper part of the merfolk! The only difference was the tail part- or whatever they had. Did they all live together too? Or were they also a bit separated from each other? Humans probably all got along with each other. ... Well, maybe. He had only seen about eight humans in all... But they seemed to be extremely nice! Maybe they all lived together and had families. He sure hoped so. That must have been nice. 

As he was daydreaming, he bumped into someone in front of him and cringed. He recoiled back and bowed his head in apology. 

"I'm very sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going; please forgive me." He whined and glanced up to see who it was. 

Oh no. 

Oh shit. 

A blazing red tail that looked like a shark's swayed back and forth angrily and both arms were crossed against his chest. Long, flowing white locks floated around his equally white body in the clear water. Red shells and kelp decorated his body here and there and bright red flowers were in his hair.  He huffed and leaned forward into Clear's personal space enough to cause discomfort. His ice blue orbs glared deeply into his soul, (or so he assumed), and a small unamused frown pouted on his lips. 

"Clear," He began. "Who am I?" 

Hesitantly, the younger merman smiled a little and looked up at him with fear in his gaze. 

"You're Shiroba. The... The prettiest merman in the kingdom..." He trailed off and cleared his throat. "I'm really sorry for bumping into you." Clear's face paled and he felt like he would throw up. 

"Yeah? Well don't do it again! My life is worth so much more than yours will ever be! Got it? You're absolutely disgusting! I have never been so insulted before in my life!" He snapped before removing himself and angrily swimming away. "Do it again, and I'll have my pet eat you up for dinner!" He hissed. 

The waters that had gotten warm from the heat of anger cooled a bit and he let out a long sigh of relief. They never had been friends. Ever since they were little too. He was about two years younger than Shiroba, and well... Since Shiroba was Toue's beloved son, he believed he was the best merperson in the entire ocean. He thought that he could get everything his way and the world was made just for him. If it wasn't for Toue keeping him sort of in line, then the whole sea would be doomed with a bratty little kid. Shiroba also had a 'pet' who was also his 'boyfish?' something like that. His name was Bejaku. They always went everywhere together and were rarely alone like this. Did they get into a fight? Clear kind of hoped they did. It'd get him back for being so mean to everyone! 

Shiroba paraded around and made all of the other fish look like they were nothing but sand compared to him. He put other merfolk down too. For example, he was the one who made Clear feel like he needed to wear a mask at all times to cover his hideous face. His self esteem was especially low when he came around. Even worse, now that he had bumped into him... He was in for it. Either his brothers would make a huge deal about it or Toue would confront him. Ah, now he was in trouble. 

"Great..." 

He hung his head low and sulked as he continued on his way. 

"That's really meaaan..." 

After a few more glides through the water, he looked downwards at the underwater cave coming up on his right. That was Mizuki's home! Excited, he sped up until he made it to the front. He moved his arms forward to gain easier movements as he undulated closer to the entrance. 

All around Mizuki's cave were skulls, bones and who knows what else. All he knew was that Mizuki collected neat things that he could find at the bottom of the ocean. His favorite of all the things were the two pairs of human leg bones he found one time. He said he ripped them off of a body and brought them back to look at for a sketch. Now, they hung above the entrance in an 'x' shape. It made Clear smile as he saw them a little closer. They were so beautiful... Not a fin out of place either. 

"Mizuki!" He called out as he slid into the mouth of the cave. The cave was mostly dark except for the few creepy fish with lights hanging over their heads. They gave him the chills... But whatever. Mizuki seemed to enjoy them a lot. 

The red tailed merman flinched and stopped what he was doing and peered into the lighter front of the cave from his spot in the back. He blinked with confusion and then realized who it was by the shimmering pink pair of eyes that shown through most of the dark shadows. He placed the white squid under his arm and rose a brow. 

"Oh, it's you, Clear. What is it? I was in the middle of something." Under his other hand was a smooth stone with black ink starting to settle down onto it. 

Mizuki worked as an artist around there. He drew beautiful things on bodies, rocks, walls, plants or whatever was asked of him. Most often, the sting rays would visit him and ask for something interesting to put on their bellies. He loved his work and had so much fun doing it too. Although, using a squid was sort of hard since they stuck him all the time. He even gave himself a few tattoos! He had found a strange black squid that shot out white ink. It was an extremely rare experience, but he did manage to give himself a tear drop on his cheek, a few more designs on his neck, and whatever was left on his shoulder. 

"Did you want your jellyfish tattoo now?" The tanned male questioned as he floated closer to his friend. He smiled wide and propped the squid from under his arm up. "I even got a brand new squid to use! This ink stays for a really long time." 

Clear shook his head and set both hands on the sides of the squid to move it out of the way. He was determined to talk to Mizuki about what he had seen. 

"There's something I want to tell you about, okay?" 

"Huh? Sure. Come on back and I'll get you some juice." He replied easily. 

First, he stuck the squid under a rock, and then continued into the darker part of the cave. He yanked off some of the floating kelp he had hidden away and went upwards into an exit.

Mizuki's cave was extremely amazing to Clear. There was a secret exit far in the back that lead up to a large air pocket inside of the cave. It was big enough for maybe up to six merpeople and still have comfort. He followed close behind and also went up into the pocket. Once above, he poked his head out of the water and onto the moist rocks. Then, he settled both of his hands up onto the supporting rocks to push himself up and sit along the edge with his tail in the water. The cave shimmered with beautiful crystals and treasures around him. The walls reminded him of the night sky as they sparkled with countless of colors and twinkles of unknown light. There were also a lot of worms that were crawling around that glowed a warm light. On the other side of him, he noticed that Mizuki had gotten a brand new pair of crowns in the corner. They too had jewels of different colors on them. 

He leaned up against the back of the wall and took hold of a worm that was close to his hand and placed it into his mouth. It tasted sweet, as usual. The grub inside of Mizuki's hide away were the absolute best! They tasted almost like those flowers he once ate near the shores of an island. They made his tongue feel light. 

While he was gazing at the beautiful cave wall above, his friend popped back up into the air pocket and hoisted himself up with a golden chalice at hand. Mizuki grabbed onto the sweet kelp and wrung out the juices using two rocks to smash it together over the cup. The juice came out into the cup and filled it to a half way point. He knew that Clear wasn't too fond of it since it lacked sweetness, but it was still nice to make drinks for the both of them. Afterwards, he yanked a few gold flakes out of a nearby bag and sprinkled them into the cup for more flavor. 

"Here you go." He passed the cup to Clear and started on his own silver cup. 

"Thank you, Mizuki!" The albino took hold of the cup and brought it up to his lips and took a sip. 

Yep. That was still sort of bitter. 

"So, what did you want to tell me again?" 

"Oh yeah! Mizuki! You'll never guess what I saw today!" Clear beamed at the other merperson. 

"...Was it an animal or another jellyfish? You always run in here and tell me about your jellyfish." 

"Nope! You're wrong... Okay, so today I saw... I saw two new humans and a catfish! Wait, no... That thing was called a dog? Or a rat? I'm not very sure- But I saw two new humans and one of them was really pretty." 

Clear clasped his hands together and smiled even wider. 

"There was this one human called the 'Aoba' and it was absolutely stunning. It had really long, blue hair and eyes the color of the sun... The 'Aoba' was beautiful. I wish I could see it again. I really do, Mizuki. Have you ever seen a human like that before? It was really cute too! He sort of looked like Shiroba though... I don't know how to feel about that, but... I really like him." 

Mizuki rolled his eyes and took a long swig of his juice and sighed. Clear  _always_ rushed into his shop and told him these 'fantastic' tales about whatever he was watching on the land. He had heard so many before, that he was starting to lose interest. Besides, Mizuki already had a collection of 'human' things too. He kept their bones around, their shining metal things, and other things he could actually  _use._ Unlike Clear, who picked up useless junk and had it sit around in his home. The few times he went to visit the other, he swore that he was in a bottle grave yard. There were so many plastic and glass bottles everywhere that it looked like a huge dump. Despite the mess, jellyfish always flocked to it.  _  
_

"Is that so? Why does it even matter. Humans are just humans. I don't think any of them are pretty or whatever. They're just sort of there, you know? Stay away from them. They might do something bad to you too. Don't you remember that turtle who came to you since he got that horrid material wrapped around his neck?"  The elder scolded.

"Yeah... But, but I think these were different! That and the 'Aoba' had a 'Sei' who looked really sick and ill. The 'Sei' was really thin and weak... I think it was a female human. I'm not sure though. How can you tell? I don't remember." He huffed and took another worm off of the wall and sucked it into his lips. "Hmmm... The 'Sei' even said that it heard a mermaid singing. I wonder if it had snuck up on me a few nights ago while I was singing the dolphins to sleep..." He mumbled softly to himself. 

"Well, this 'Sei' better not have heard you. Do you have any idea how bad it would be if a human actually saw or heard one of us?! That'd be it. We'd get executed by Toue himself! Just... keep laying low, okay?" 

"Seen? Mm... The 'Sei' did not see me! But, the 'Aoba' might have... He didn't really-" 

"Clear!" 

Both of his shoulders now had two hands holding him down. He was so shocked that he almost fell over with his tail sticking straight up in the air from the shock. His eyes widened and he bit down on his bottom lip. Looked like Mizuki was sort of mad at him... Oh no. 

"You must  _never_ let the humans know we exist! Okay? You can't do it!" He shook his shoulders a few more times. "Tell me right now that you will never let them see you." 

"Aaah, stop bullying me, Mizuki! I promise, I promissse! Now let me go!" Clear whined childishly. 

He was let go of and he sank back against the cool rock wall. At the same time, Mizuki placed a hand on his forehead and sighed loudly. 

"What am I going to do with you? Geez... Well, you might as well tell me more about these humans since you came all the way here. I'll listen." 

"Yes! I will tell you everything about them! So-

* * *

 

-I think I saw something with pink eyes look at me through the dark, Sei." Aoba continued with his story as he sat on Sei's bed. He was gazing out of the clear window of the castle and frowned. "You know... I don't think it was a bat or anything either." He set down the brush he was using and glanced back at Sei. 

"Do you think it was a mermaid? I'm pretty sure it was... I mean- That's the same spot where I saw the one that was singing too! It was really beautiful.." The raven sighed as he crawled up onto the bed and wrapped his arms around his little brother's neck playfully while hugging him. 

"Oh stop that, Sei! You and I both know that mermaids aren't real. What's next? Unicorns and pixies? I don't think so." He mused. 

Sei giggled and nuzzled the mess of blue hair against his head. 

"Yeah, but... I wish they were real. You know? I think it'd be so much fun to date a mermaid. Or maybe you'd rather date someone like..." He swooped downwards to pick up Ren off of Aoba's lap and set him closer to his face. "Ren! Would you date Ren?" 

"Ah-" Aoba was in slight shock as the dog was suddenly so close to his face. Ren barked and licked his nose. "No way! I'd never date my dog!" He laughed and grabbed hold of the fluff again. "This means you're interested in dating a fish then!" 

The slightly taller went silent and realized what was saying and began to laugh. 

"No way, Aoba! I would never date a fish! That's gross! But... if it was half man- Then it's a different story!" He joked. 

"You're so silly. Hey, are you feeling okay?" 

"Mmhm! Never better. I think the medicine I got is really good.. I should be fine." 

"Okay, Sei. Butttt.... I think it's about time to go down for supper." 

"I'm not h-" 

His stomach growled loudly right on cue. 

Aoba burst out laughing and Ren started to bark. 

"Aoba!" 

"Okay, okay! Let's go get something to eat." 

"Geez...." 


	3. Watching

Clear had finished telling Mizuki about his fintastic tale about the humans, but before they could even attempt to discuss it, more of Mizuki's friends came over. They were apart of his group called 'Dry Juice.' Personally, he wasn't very good about socializing with new people without his mask. So, Clear left in a hurry. 

"Thank you so much for having me, Mizuki!" He blurted out in front of the others. 

Mizuki smiled and nodded his head. 

"No problem, Clear. It was nice having you over. Come again any time you want, okay?" 

"Yes! Will do! Well then, goodbye!" 

With a quick flick of his tail, Clear left the cave through the front. He swam quickly and wanted to get away from it as fast as possible. His one of three hearts was beating quickly with worry and anxiety. 

What if those other members saw his face? No wait. They did see his face. They must have thought he was ugly. They were looking at him when he said his goodbyes too, weren't they. What if they bullied him about it? He really didn't want to be bullied because of his face. It... It wasn't very pretty and his scales had grown in strangely but it wasn't his fault! He wished that no one could see him. He didn't want anyone to see his face. He was too strange... 

Jetting through the water, he bumped into someone just like before. Again, he bowed his head and began to apologize over and over again. 

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going- Please forgive me!" His mouth rambled on and on. 

"You little whore!" 

Oh no. 

Oh shit. 

Again. This same person again. 

This time when he lifted his head, he was attacked. 

"Ow-!" 

Shiroba slashed against his cheek with his sharpened nails. But then it didn't stop there, he continued to whip his nails out while he snarled in attempt to bite him. His sharp teeth bit down against Clear's arm angrily. He was screaming at him with hateful words too. 

"I told you before! Don't fucking mess with me! Go back home to your trash pile or something- Fuck off!" He was fuming. "I'm the prince of the sea after all! Why the hell should I even have to put up with you!? Do it again- Bump into me again and I'll have Daddy cut off your head! I swear!" 

"I-I'm sorry... I'm really sorry!" 

With one more harsh scratch to his neck, he swam away. His red tail was cutting through the water like a knife. Shiroba swam into the dark rocks around the bottom of the ocean. The bright red tail slowly turned dimmer and dimmer. The sound of his mumbling to himself also faded. 

Clear floated in the water with tears in his eyes. He sniffled and took in long, deep breaths. He cried and bled. Shimmering blue blood dribbled off of his skin and into the water. It was thick and gave off a slight glow. He touched his cheek where a stinging nail mark was and flinched in pain. 

"It hurts..." He whimpered and decided to go back home. He could heal with the medical care he kept in his house. This happened all the time after all. 

He was infamous for being clumsy, getting into pointless fights, or simply getting into trouble. Crabs often snapped at him, the sharks tried to eat him, other merfolk hated him and sometimes his own bottles would break and he would cut himself. He felt like he was really useless... It really wasn't his fault though. There was nothing he could do about it. 

Sluggishly, he swam in the direction of his home. 

"Ah- Wait... I can't go home yet. The dolphins need to sleep..." 

He would have to go sing to them first before he could take care of himself. They needed their sleep after all. 

* * *

 

"Aoba?" 

"Hm?" 

Aoba blinked slowly and looked up at the ceiling. 

"Are you awake, Aoba?" 

"Yes, I am." 

He turned to look at his boyfriend with a bored expression. 

Great. 

Koujaku was staring at him contently with his red orbs piercing into his soul. It made Aoba feel a bit sick to his stomach. 

"I told you before, didn't I?" 

"Ugh, yes. You did, Koujaku." 

"Well...?" 

The blue haired male sat up from his spot in their bed and placed a hand over his forehead. He sighed and felt his head throb with pain. 

"You know what, Koujaku? I think I need some fresh air." He stood up off the bed and adjusted his tank top and shorts. "This...This is a lot to take in still. I really don't think I can give you an answer right now." 

The taller sat up from his spot and began to stand up with him. "Then- I'll join you on your wa-" 

He couldn't finish since he was pushed back down on his bed. 

"I need to take a walk  _alone,_  Koujaku." 

"I-I see... Then.... I'll wait here for you?" 

Aoba smiled and kissed the elder on his forehead. 

"That's right. I'll be back whenever. Then, I might give you your answer." 

"I'll wait for you, Aoba." 

The bluenette walked to the door and closed it quietly behind him. The entire house was dark, and he was sure that everyone was asleep. It should be safe to leave. He looked around the living room and noticed that the door to the outside was already slightly ajar. He must have forgotten to lock it again, well... That would be alright. It didn't matter too much. No one would walk in and steal anything anyway. The house was on private property after all. 

He slipped on his flip flops along with a jacket and left the house without a single sound. He walked down the cobble stone path from the top of the hill. Exotic flowers and bushes surrounded the path. A few overgrown patches of plants tickled against his arms, but he didn't mind it very much. This was the first time in so many years that he was able to go to the beach house. It felt like he belonged there though- Much to his dismay, Granny would have a fit if he stayed there too long. Aoba had a job in a city that was so far away that he had to take a plane back to this place. 

The beach house was where he spent most of his childhood. Ever since his parents had to leave, he stayed there with Granny. Except, she would never let him get too close to the water for some reason. Due to that, he didn't know how to swim nor did he know why. She always warned him that there was something scary in the waters. He just assumed it meant that the waves might carry him away since he was so small. Now that he was an adult, he could go as close as he wanted to. 

Hopping down the last few steps on the stairs, he turned right. Then left. Then- 

"Wait..." 

He was confused. Where was that spot Sei had showed him again? 

Retracing his foot steps from earlier that day, he crossed a small field of tall grass and over a few rocks until he hit sand. The sand was cold compared to the warmth it gave off just a few hours ago. The sun shimmered on the water and made the waves sparkle with life as they crashed up against the sides of rocks. The waters were also glowing a bright blue. 

Jellyfish. 

They were everywhere. The jellyfish were gliding along in the water beautifully. 

"Wow... It's so pretty..." He whispered to himself. 

Aoba stepped closer and closer to the water and looked out at the shimmering blue. There seemed to be a rock in the middle of the waters far out from the shore. It looked like it was smooth compared to the sharp edges everywhere else. 

Feeling content and peaceful from the nice view, he sat down and took off his shoes to allow the water to touch his feet. He hugged his knees to his chest and stared at the scene with awe. Silently, he wished that he could have been allowed by the water as a child so he could see things like this every day. 

Speaking of his childhood, he was in quite a pickle right now. 

In the back of his mind, he knew that he should answer Koujaku... But he couldn't. He just couldn't. He knew that they were childhood friends for so long. He knew how much Koujaku loved him and how happy they could be together. He knew that he agreed out of pity to be his boyfriend. He knew that Koujaku was a huge lady killer. And of course, he knew... 

That he didn't share the same feelings for him. 

If anything, Aoba mainly only saw Koujaku as an older brother figure and not much else. 

He thought they would have broken up by now since he barely went to the beach house anymore. But that idiot... That thick headed lady killer thought differently. 

It wasn't even close to three hours since he had arrived and Koujaku asked the big question. 

He got down on one knee and opened a box with a ring in it. 

'Will you marry me?'

Aoba was still shocked! He was sure that Koujaku would have easily forgotten about him and found someone else to love... But there they were. Awkward. 

He denied him a first time and said he needed to think about it. Thinking about it became difficult since he knew that there was no way he could marry Koujaku. But still... He was weak. He had to wait.

_"Sway, sway, swaying in between the waves..."_

What was that? 

_"Gently, gently, drift to the sea..."_

Singing? 

Looking upwards, he noticed something that he hadn't seen before. 

On that rock in the middle of the waters was someone sitting. He could only make out their top half, but he was captivated. The words were beautiful and they flowed easily. He closed his eyes and let the music take him into a relaxed state. His mind felt at peace and all his worries faded away into nothingness. 

Then, he heard a small sound of a dolphin and talking. The music was cut off and before he could even realize it, he had fallen asleep for a good ten minutes. 

"Yes! I am always glad to sing your children to sleep! It is very cute to watch them drift off to sleep!" The beautiful voice began. 

A dolphin made another sound. 

"I made that song up this morning. It's called the 'Jellyfish song.' Did you like it?" 

Another squealing sound. 

"Aha! I'm so glad! I was really hoping you'd-" 

"Please sing it again!" His mouth opened and he stared in the direction of the person on the rocks. "I want to hear you sing again!" 

The person flinched and began to panic. Then, they fell off of their rock and into the water. 

Aoba stood up and squinted for a better view. 

"Please...? Please come back! Sing again, please. It was beautiful! ... Hello?" 

The water filled with jellyfish sudden bubbled and upwards came a head. 

"Hello!" 

Filled with shock, Aoba fell backwards onto his butt. He clutched onto the sand and began to panic. He swallowed hard and his eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. This was unreal. 

A top half of a human with white hair and beautiful pink eyes and a bottom half of a shimmering fish. 

This was...

"A-a-are you a ... a..." 

"I'm a merman... Um... I really shouldn't be talking to you but... But did you really want to hear me sing again? I'd be happy to! I always sing for the dolphins to sleep anyway so-" The merman went silent and looked at Aoba's legs for a long time. 

The blue haired male felt like he might faint from this experience. It was too surreal for him. But either way, he thought that it might be safe to... 

"Are you really a merman...?" 

"I am!" 

"I see... Y-yeah so... I really would like to hear you sing again." 

* * *

 

Clear was filled with complete and utter joy as the 'Aoba' willingly spoke to him. He looked extremely nervous, but it didn't matter much. It wasn't like he was the one that came up to the 'Aoba.' The 'Aoba' was the one who spoke to him first! This didn't go against their rules or anything... So he was safe. Probably. 

Okay, maybe not so much. 

"I will sing for you then!" 

"Thank you... It's really beautiful." 

Both of his cheeks heated up and he smiled softly at the human who was watching his every move with disbelief. With that, he opened his mouth and sang his song once more. 

He sang and sang until he filled the human's heart with his song. The two legs' eyes closed and he looked like he was at peace. His song must have really rested whatever was wrong with him. Once he finished the last verse to his song, he stopped and scooted closer to the shore. His tail brushed against the cold sand as he reached out to touch the mess of blue hair when- 

Both of those golden eyes snapped open and Clear flinched with surprise and let out a small yelp. 

"Ahh-! I'm sorry! I'm very sorry, Aoba!" 

"O-Oh- No! It's fine! It's really... fine I was just surprised you were going to tou- How did you know my name?" 

The albino removed his hand and looked away. 

"I might have been watching you... I'm sorry. You were just so interesting and I-" 

"I-it's okay. I was watching you too. I saw you in that cave over there." 

"You did!? Please don't tell anyone! Don't tell anyone that you have seen me here tonight either, okay? Toue will make fish stew out of me!" He whimpered and whined. 

"Don't worry, I won't tell. I promise! But... I was just wondering... What is your name?" 

Clear cleared his throat and bent his tail in a way where he could kneel in front of the other. 

"My name is Clear! I'm nothing special though... The others are far more interesting to talk to than me." He mumbled the last part softly. 

"I'm Aoba, as you know but... Don't say that! I think that you're very interesting. I have never even heard a voice like that before! Trust me, you're lovely!" Aoba tried to reassure him.

"Do you really think so? Thank you so much! It makes me happy!" 

The human reached outwards to touch his face. Clear stiffened, but allowed him to do so anyway. He was touching over the deep scratches on his cheek. 

"Ah... Please don't look at my face, Aoba... I'm really ugly- A-and I was injured today... Please don't notice it." He worried and looked away. 

"No... It's fine. Does it hurt?" 

"It hurts a lot! Shiroba is really mean to me!" 

"Oh, I know what can help." 

Aoba dug into his jacket pocket and picked out a small box. He unwrapped something inside of it and stuck it against Clear's moist skin. Surprisingly, it stuck. 

"...What is this?" Clear questioned. 

Proudly, the other showed him the box. 

"It's a bandaid! I always carry it around because Sei seems to get into a lot of accidents." 

"I-I see! That's amazing! I usually only use kept but... This seems to be really cute!" 

Stuffing the box back into his pocket, he reached out to touch Clear's face again. It was wet in his hands and felt sort of slimy. 

"But asides from that... I don't think you're ugly at all. You're really kind and beautiful to me, Clear." 

"I-I wouldn't say that... But... Thank you so much... It really does mean a lot to me. I'm so glad..." 

_"Aoba?"_

Uh oh. Clear flinched and looked up once more to only see that there was another human. This one was the 'Sei.' He was sure of it. 

Aoba stood up suddenly and looked at his brother. Sei was soaking wet with water and shivering. Water dribbled down his thin legs, his eyes were slightly red from the salt, his hair dripped onto his already wet clothing. He looked extremely cold and drenched in water. 

"S-Sei! What happened!?" 

"N-Noiz tried to take me into the water was all... It's nothing. I-I'm just c-c-cold!" Sei smiled half heartedly and looked down at Clear. He waved a little to him and hugged his younger brother tightly. 

"Sei... You must be freezing! We have to bring you back inside right now, okay? Here- Take my jacket!" 

The 'jacket' was thrown off and onto the black haired male. 

Before they could turn around and leave, Clear spoke up again. 

"You know Noiz?" 

"Y-y-yes! We're... very good friends. A-are you Clear?" 

"Yes, that's me... Get better soon, the 'Sei.'" 

"Thank you, Clear... I will." 

Aoba was fussing over how wet Sei was, but then he turned back to glance at the albino. 

"Meet me here in the morning, okay?" 

"S-sure!" 

The two ran off somewhere where Clear could not follow. 

"Noiz knows... Sei?" 


	4. Whispering

Aoba guided Sei into the bathroom and began to strip him down. He took off his soaking wet shirt and shorts while trying to peel down his underwear that was sticking to his legs. His poor older brother continued to shake and shiver from the cold.

"I'm sorry, Sei. I want to get you into the hot water as soon as possible, okay?" He leaned over the tub and turned on the water. He stuck his hand into the water to ensure that it wasn't too hot or too cold. Just to be cautious, he checked it twice.  

"I-It's fine, Aoba... Thank you f-f-for helping me back home. I don't t-think I could have made it back w-without you." Sei stuttered.

Gently, Aoba helped him down into the tub and laid him into the warm water. It made him feel awful that Sei was still shaking. He wished that he could just turn on the hot water and let him get into it, but if it got too hot then his skin would be burned.

"Why... Didn't you tell either Granny or I that you were going outside this late? What if you didn't come back? You're lucky I was there at the same time. I would have been so worrie- No, I am worried right now. Nevermind- Just... Please tell one of us if you're going out. Or maybe you should just carry Ren with you! I'm sure he'd love to go out and play." Aoba rambled on with worry as he grabbed onto a wash rag and liquid soap.

"B-Because... I um... I really wanted to see N-N-Noiz... Aoba, can you join me? I'm still c-cold..." The smaller softly asked. "T-the tub is big enough."

The tub was made for about three people to fit comfortably... He didn't really need another bath but how could he say no to Sei? It was impossible. Besides, who knows when his last moments could be. What was he thinking? It was terrible for him to think that Sei's life could end at any moment! He should be fine. He had to be fine. There was nothing else they could do for him anymore. He was already in the hospital for most of his life so-

"...If I get in, you have to tell me why Noiz tried to pull you into the water. Okay?"

"I-I will!"

Slowly, Aoba also removed his clothing and sighed softly. Sei always liked bathing with him despite the fact it was usually in the hospital. He just loved being with him at every moment they had together.

Sei was always so sick as a child up until currently. He had an extremely weak heart and needed to be under a doctor's care for most of his time. They barely played together, but when they did it was a lot of fun. It mainly consisted of Sei laying in bed and Aoba next to him and playing with the stuffed animals around him. They would pretend that they were in their own little world and that each animal was either a prince, knight, princess, king, queen- All of those sort of things. Or if Sei was too tired to play from his medicine, Aoba learned to read fairy tale stories to him.

Completely in the nude, Aoba slipped into the tub beside his brother. Then, Sei adjusted himself so that he was in front of Aoba and in between his legs. He wormed around a bit and relaxed by laying his head against the other's chest.

"Okay, okay. Now that you're comfortable, can you tell me what you were doing so close to the water in the first place? You know that you can't swim." The blue haired male reminded him while he poured some soap into the damp cloth.

"Yes, Aoba... I know that I can't swim. I was just sitting on the sand next to the rocks and wanted to see that mermaid I met the first night I came here... I told you I heard a mermaid singing- Didn't I?" He frowned and lifted his arm slightly so Aoba could scrub it.

"Yeah, you did say something about that... Was that really Noiz? I think you might have been thinking about Clear. That seems to be more logical, doesn't it?"

"Speaking of Clear- You met him, didn't you? I-I only got to see him... What is he like?"

Aoba gently washed his brother's arm and stopped to think. He pondered about the question and tried to find words to describe Clear from their first meeting not too long ago.

"Well... He has really beautiful pink eyes and a warm voice. I fell asleep listening to it. Um.. He is also very kind, I think. He was singing the dolphins to sleep, can you believe it? This whole thing doesn't seem real to me. We are awake right now, aren't we?"

Sei giggled and splashed some water against Aoba as he turned around to face him. He wrapped his arms around his neck and flushed their bodies together.

"This is definitely real life."

Sighing softly, Aoba wrapped his arms around Sei's waist and held him close. He could feel that Sei was starting to warm up a bit. It was nice to feel his heat again.

"You know, Sei... if Koujaku was awake right now... He'd be flipping out because we're naked in a tub together." He mused.

"Probably... Before you showed up, he was freaking out enough since he was worried that you had gotten someone else to love." Sei laughed softly. "He also got a few nosebleeds from thinking about you. It was really funny. But now, I hear you two are getting married! That's exciting isn't it?"

Aoba shifted his gaze to the side and cleared his throat. He pressed his forehead against Sei's and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Sei... I don't want to marry Koujaku. What should I do? If I tell him that then I'm afraid he'll... You know..."

"Do you really think he would kill himself?"

"I... I kind of do. Should I just marry him and suck it up? Or should I... Should I say no and hope for the best? Sei, Koujaku is my best friend since childhood. I really care for him but he's only a childhood friend to me and nothing more."

"I see... Well... I don't know much about relationships but I think that... That you should do what you think is best. I'm sure whatever it is will work out one way or another. I mean.. You're the smartest person I know, Aoba. You should know what feels best and go with it! You can't possibly just follow what others tell you to do."

Then they both went silent.

"So, you're telling me that you don't know. Aren't you."

"Ah, did you see through my little speech?"

"Seeei..." Aoba whined softly and placed his head against his shoulder in defeat.

"Hehe. Sorry, Aoba." Sei giggled and smiled half heartedly.

 

* * *

 

 

Clear ended up chasing down Noiz as soon as they both left the humans. He swam as hard and fast as he could to try and catch up with him. He had so many questions that needed answers! He couldn't just go to sleep without knowing everything about what had just happened.

It took a while, but sooner or later he met up with Noiz at last. He called out to him and swam a bit quicker.

"Noooiz-!"

"Hn?"

"Finally! I caught up to you! Wow- I'm so tired now..." Clear huffed and inhaled more water through his gills. "I had a question or two about what had just happened. I-Is it okay if I ask?" He beamed upwards at the other.

The blond rolled his eyes and shrugged. He crossed his arms as he sat down on a nearby rock. Then, he pointed to a rock in front of him for Clear to sit down on. Once Clear did, he started to speak.

"Do you want to know why merfolk aren't meant to talk to humans?"

"Huh? What do you mean? We can't talk to them because they might take us away and do things to us... right?"

"Wrong."

"W-what?"

Clear shook his head and cocked it to the side with confusion.

"What do you mean? Toue told all of us that was the reason why we aren't made to talk to them... We've all seen fish get pulled up by their nets and eaten. Isn't that the same for us?"

Noiz yawned and denied him again.

"Not really... I heard from Shiroba and a few others that we don't talk to humans because we could risk becoming humans."

Now Clear was completely lost. He had absolutely no idea what his friend was talking about.

"Um... What do you mean by th-"

"Before you ask another stupid question, I'll just explain it now. Apparently... If you can catch a human and drown them, take their legs and then add some of your blood to it then you can take their legs. Their legs can become yours... Or something. You might need something else to use too... I don't remember much. "

"Is that why you were trying to take Sei?"

"Yeah. I want to see those 'computer' things on the dry land. A few have fallen around my part but I can't turn them on... I wonder why."

Noiz wanted to become human for those 'computer' things, huh? Then... Could that mean that he too could become human for Aoba? What was it even like to be on two legs? Maybe it was about the same as a tail. Oh... It was so strange and bizarre to even think about. Moving around with those silly feet and legs... How did humans even do it? It was really strange... Still. He had so many questions.

"Can you turn back into a merperson afterwards?"

"Dunno."

"Is it really worth all of that...? Humans are merpeople too. Sort of."

"Not really. The humans are sort of slow witted and dumb if you ask me. I think that half of their brain gets shoved into their legs to remind them how to walk. I think it might be interesting to test it out though. Who knows." Noiz shrugged. "Besides, have you even seen how much stuff they dump into the ocean? I wonder how much stuff is actually on land... You know what I mean?"

"Yeah... That could be right too... I really want to become humans just to be with Aoba though. It might be sort of fun to explore the dry land with him... Oh yeah- that's right! Please do not drown Sei. Aoba would be very upset to know that you killed his brother... I think."

To Clear, he would be devastated if one of his little brothers was injured. Even if they didn't get along as he hoped they would, he would very much so miss them. The Alphas always teased him and brought him to tears with their mean words.... But he loved them still. Family was family and he couldn't change that.

Noiz simply shrugged again. He looked off to the side with irritation. 

"I want to drown Sei since he's so easy to drag too. I got a hold of his legs and tried to pull him, but it's weird... He didn't fight back much. It was almost like he wanted me to pull him. Whatever." 

"Ehh? I don't think Sei understood what you were doing is all... Please do not try that again! Sei is very important to Aoba!" 

The blond leaned forward and glared at Clear. He reached out to grab a handful of his white hair and pulled him close to his face. 

"And what if I do? What'll you do about it?" 

Clear blinked slowly and began to panic a bit since he was so close up to Noiz's face. He really did hate having his face shown off to the entire world like that. It made him feel really uncomfortable. He shoved away soon after and blurted out a mess of things. 

"I-If you kill Sei... Then I will never talk to you again! Sei is a human and they're half merpeople just like us! I'm sure that Sei has hopes and dreams that he wants to live to see! Please don't kill him. Aoba would be very mad at me if I let you! I know it." He huffed back and turned away. 

"Hm... So you really like him already, huh? This 'Aoba.'" Noiz smirked and nodded slowly. "Fine. I won't kill Sei," 

"Really?! That's wonderful! I'm so glad. Thank you very much, Noiz!" Clear clasped his hands together and hummed with delight. "I knew that I could trust you!" 

The plain tailed merman yawned slightly and stretched his arms. 

"As much as I'd hate to go... I have to head back to my home. Tomorrow I plan to meet Aoba~ So... Good night, Noiz! I hope you have a wonderful evening." He chirped before getting off the rock and darting away in a fluid motion. 

Noiz still sat on his rock and swayed his tail fin back and forth. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Clear had left before he could finish what he was about to say. Such a shame really. He wanted to see what his reaction would be. Either way, it didn't really matter since he would get what he wanted in the end. He never backed down and he always won. No matter what. 

_"I'll kill Aoba."_

* * *

 Clear made his way back to his home after a while. He lived in a sort of abandoned area where no one willingly went since the jellyfish would sting them if they got too close. His house wasn't much as a house either. It was mostly large area of sand covered with seaweed fonds and a sort of rocky bottom. He also found some large parts of old ships and buildings that had fallen into the sea and created a sort of shelter with them. Inside were a load of his shinning  bottles and glass that he found too. There were at least ten piles of useless junk around his bed of kelp too. It was home sweet home. 

He stretched his arms outwards. He felt absolutely exhausted after that long day. It was getting late and the waters were darkened around him except for the glowing jellyfish swaying side to side. He greeted one and patted the top of it. 

"Good night, Jellies. See you tomorro-" 

"Brother." 

"Brooother." 

"Ah... Maybe I won't get any sleep tonight..." He mumbled to himself. 

His little brothers were pretty beautiful in his eyes. They had perfectly silver tails that were free of any damaged scales or random freckles of color. Their scales were scattered only a bit up to their waist and stopped there. They didn't have the same random scales that tainted Clear's back nor did they have the plain pale green color as he did. Their eyes were brighter than his and their skin was... Well, it too wasn't marked up with scratches or different skin color. They always wore these strange necklaces around their necks, tails and wrists that he could never figure out though. A human must have tossed them out or something. The necklaces were a silver color with shining white diamonds in the center of it and they clung tightly around their necks. 

The Alphas had their arms crossed and were smirking at each other. They knew something that Clear must not have. 

"What is it, Alphas?" Clear finally gave in and asked them. 

"We heard," 

"Something really funny." 

Their grins only widened. 

"What is it?" The eldest asked with a bored voice. 

"We heard that you," 

"Bumped into Shiroba twice today. What a clumsy idiot you are, Brother." 

"Where did you hear that from? Come on! It's not my faulllt! I promise!" He objected and sat up. "Can't you two just go to sleep? I had a long day and I want to go somewhere tomorrow. Just leave me alone. Okay?" 

The younger brothers were irked at his suggestion for them to leave and stared at him with judging eyes. 

"No way, Brother. You're so useless you might accidentally die in your sleep." 

"That would really suck, wouldn't it? Maybe. Then again... You should probably just die. Shouldn't you." 

"Your tail is really ugly and so is your face... Wait- What's that?" 

"What... What is that?" 

"Huh?" 

Clear was a little lost when they were questioning him. He was hardly listening since he knew that they would make him upset if he did. He looked around with confusion to see if there was something strange happening. There was nothing. 

 Before he knew it, Alpha was up in his face and ripped off the band aid that had somehow managed to stay on for that long. 

The tallest gasped in pain and clutched his cheek. That was the first time he had ever gotten something ripped off of his face after all. 

"O-Ow! Watch it- N-No wait... Give it back!" He reached out to grab onto the small band aid in Alpha's fingertips, but it was yanked out of his reach. 

"What is this, Brother?" 

"What is it?" 

"You didn't get this underwater, did you?" 

"What the hell is it?" 

They drilled him with questions as they observed the sticky piece of fabric. 

"I-It's... I found it on the beach and picked it up... I saw one of the children wearing it on their face after they got hurt and I thought I should do the same? See? I have a cut right here!" He lied through his teeth and pointed out to the scar from earlier that day. 

The Alphas looked at him with narrowed eyes, then back at each other. 

Alpha dropped the piece of fabric and shrugged it off easily. They huffed and turned away. 

"We're going to tell Toue." 

"You're definitely going to get in trouble." 

After they left, the room went silent. 

"Wow..." 

That was such a pain. 

"Well... At least tomorrow I get to see Aoba again!" 

He fell onto the 

* * *

 

sheets with ease and groaned loudly.

Aoba had finally gotten Sei to let go of him in his bed and now he was trudging along back to his and Koujaku's room. His body felt heavy, but his mood had lightened a bit since he was able to spend more time with his beloved brother.

He sat down on the bed and laid flat on his stomach. He closed his eyes and hoped to instantly go to sleep, but instead he was interrupted.

 "Aoba... You're a little heavy." 

"Hm?" 

He hadn't noticed, but he landed directly on top of Koujaku. He didn't really care much though. He was pretty sure that this would be a huge plus for Koujaku since he was always begging Aoba to cuddle with him or to hold him. What a whiny little kid. 

"If I'm heavy, then push me off. I don't care. I'm tired, you stupid hippo." Aoba huffed teasingly. 

"Oi..." 

The elder flipped them so Aoba was under him and he was hovering on top. He couldn't help but smile when Aoba giggled at the action and gasped with slight surprise when they were so close. He lowered his head downwards and planted a small kiss to Aoba's lips. 

"K-Koujaku!" 

"What?" 

"Don't suddenly kiss me like that- Okay? It's so embarrassing..." 

"W-well... When you put it that way, I guess it is." 

Aoba turned his head to the side and closed his eyes again. They felt so heavy... 

The hairdresser gulped and looked down at the blue haired male under him. Aoba was sprawled out on the sheets wearing only a pair of blue boxers and a see through white tank top. His hair was still sort of wet from a bath and he smelled really nice. This was really hard to back down from too... How could he? This was about the same as tempting a child with candy. 

Hesitantly, he kissed down the younger's neck and slid a hand up his shirt. 

Aoba didn't reply. 

The kisses became more and more ferocious without any mercy between kiss. He suckled against his neck and rolled up his shirt until his pink buds were visible. 

Nothing. 

Letting go of his supple neck, Koujaku latched onto one of his nipples. He rolled his tongue around the hardening bud and sucked as his other hand toyed with the other. He pinched at it lovingly and tugged slightly. 

"Nn..." 

Ah, now it seemed that Aoba was really feeling it. This was his chance! Finally, he could have a chance with Aoba and have sex with h-

_"hngGGggh-Ppbhww-"_

A loud snore. 

Koujaku ripped himself away and looked at Aoba's face with disbelief. 

He was asleep. 

He was snoring. 

This.... 

_This isn't fair!_

Frustrated, he rolled back over to his side of the bed and faced his back to Aoba. 

Just as things were getting good- He didn't even notice that Aoba was asleep! Either he was the stupidest person on the planet or Aoba was really cruel- Maybe both. It was driving him insane. How the hell could he be so cruel! 

_Damn it Aoba!_


	5. Waves

When morning came, Aoba had slept in. He rolled around in the sheets without a care in the world. The heat was pulling him in closer and closer into the mess of sheets. Tossing and turning his head, he ended up rolling onto the floor.Landing with a 'thud,' he groaned loudly and pushed himself up to his feet. The wood felt cold against his touch as he wobbled a bit then gained his footing.

"What time is it...?" His voice sounded hoarse.

Turning to look at the clock on the wall, he rubbed his eyes to rid them of sleep. When he was finished, he noted that the clock hands were on a ten and a nine. It was 10:45 am.

"I forgot... I have to see Clear!"

Excited to see his underwater friend, he bounded out the bedroom door. His feet made the floor creak as he dashed through the hallway and into the kitchen. He was ready to put on some flip flops and go straight to the ocean when-

"Aoba! I was wondering when you would wake up!" Koujaku beamed from the table. He was wearing a red button down shirt with the first few undone in attempt to show off his chest. He also wore white pants and white shoes. It didn't seem to suit his scars and tattoos he had around his body. Hell- His hair was even done extremely nicely for this 'occasion.' 

Stopping in his tracks, the blue haired male turned back to look at him.

"...Oh...my god...."

The table was filled with all sorts of breakfast foods. It must have cooled down since there wasn't any steam coming off of it. There were pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast, coffee and orange juice. There was a cheesy looking table cloth that covered the table with small lace designs near the end and a white candle in the middle. On the plate of pancakes, there was whipped cream spelling out his name.

Aoba's heart sank.

Sighing, he relaxed his shoulders and shifted his weight onto one foot. Crossing his arms, he stared at Koujaku with disbelief.

"Did you... make all of this?"

"Uh.... Sort of-! Your grandmother helped me a bit... But I did do most of it? Ahah- Does that impress you? I uh.... I wanted to ask you again-" Koujaku stumbled out awkwardly. He was on edge and about to tackle Aoba by how much he was shaking. "I really want an answer..."

"Koujaku- You know what I said... Right? I just- I... I need more time. This is a lot to think about." Aoba whispered back.

"I... I understand. Well- You'll come and eat with me! Won't you? I made- We made it just for you. Please....?"

"Thank you, Koujaku. Really."

"Y-Yeah! It was nothing!"

"...Did you wake up at the crack of dawn to make this?"

"...no?"

* * *

  
  
Clear was awake since five am. He couldn't sleep since he was so excited to finally see 'Aoba' once more. He wanted to talk to him all day and learn everything about him. He wanted to know what the world was like up there. Noiz was right about all the junk they threw into the water- There was a lot of it. Now he could only imagine what other types of things were on the land. If only he could go see them for himself...

Still daydreaming about the world, he let his arm slip off the rock it was perched on. He gasped in shock and came back to reality. Glancing around to make sure no one saw him do that, he noted that there was someone strange near the shore.

It was certainly not Aoba.... In fact, he was probably the opposite of Aoba. The man was standing at least six fins high, had kelp for hair, and was.... scary. His intimidating presence made Clear want to run away and hide under a rock. He was muscular with a fine brown coat that outlined his arms. His pants were black and he wore tall boots. Sort of strange considering they were at a beach. He looked like he belonged in a place with sand- and not water. His arms were crossed and he looked out into the water sternly.

Then, a large pink bird flew down onto his shoulder. It squawked at him viciously. The sound it made was deeper than the normal seagulls that circled and cried above Clear's head most of the time. This bird was just... big and scary too. Just like it's master. Squinting to look closer, he saw that both the bird and the man had beads, braids and feathers in their hair. Well- That was sort of cute.

The man’s yellow orbs scanned around the waters as if he was in search of something. He was obviously unsettled by something- but Clear couldn’t figured out what. It was just another normal day at the ocean. The waters were sparkling and crystal clear without a stain of any polluted water. The only strangeness was that the high rise was coming a bit earlier than normal.

Naturally,  Clear simply watched his every movement with interest. It wasn’t of his interest to go over to such a scary person and try to befriend him. It would have been a lost cause… Besides, there was still that awful frown on his face too.

“...hmph,” The man grunted to himself. “This water is too shallow… There is no way…” Turning to the side, he caught view of the cave where the albino was watching.

The man almost seemed to make eye contact with him- But he had to be imagining things. There was no way that he could afford to have yet another human know that he existed! That would make… Two people! Three would mean he’d be in deeeeep waters. There was no way-

“...It seems I was wrong.” The tall man smirked to himself and turned away to walk away from the beach. Then, his bird flew away into the crisp morning air like an angel.

Confused, the merman turned his head to observe his long legs stride off.

Well…. That was new. Speaking of new? Why the heck were there so many new humans showing up to the ocean? They always hung out near those disgusting metal things they called ‘boats.’ They were also along a… wooden thing that went over the ocean in which there were some rides or whatever. There was also many people who would throw away their trash into the water… among other things. Of course, that included those horrid hook things that took most of his friends away if they got too close. He went there when he was younger- But was pulled away quickly by his brothers. He was thankful for that too considering he almost lost a tail fin.   
Humans were dangerous… Just like what Noiz said. He knew that yet here he was still trying to communicate with them… Was he just a fool who can’t seem to keep his head under the water? What was so great about air anyway? It was polluted and gross. … The ocean was polluted too. All the things the humans had ever touched became dirty so quickly- Why? Why did they assume that it was okay to do such things. Did they have any idea what it did to their world and his world?   
Humans were so weird…

Placing his head under the water, Clear blew out some bubbles and sighed. It was probably near noon now. By the way the sun was shining brightly- he assumed it was.

Looks like Aoba did not show up… Maybe he was just kidding. Did Clear miss the joke? It’s just that- It wasn’t very funny. If anything, he felt sort of sad that he wasted his entire morning staying there waiting for no one to come.

Splashing his tail in the shallow end of the water, he reclined backwards against his favorite rock.

“Maybe Aoba is busy….”

There was no way that he would skip out on purpose. Something else must have come up. Like- His sibling could have become ill! He hoped not… That sibling did not look healthy in the least. Aoba would be very upset if that was the case too… He knew that he would be sad if one of the Alphas got hurt.

Closing his eyes, he thought about having those… fleshy ‘legs.’ He would definitely look strange. What would Toue say? Would Shiroba tell on him again? Oh, he hoped not. Shiroba was always destroying things he enjoyed… Like that little metal pointy thing he found. That jerk of a shark snapped it in half. It was such a nice hair scrapper too… His brothers would give him heck for getting legs. He could see it already. Oh and Toue-

What was he even thinking? He’d never be able to get legs… Unless, he did whatever Noiz was saying. That could have been a way… But he did not want to harm any human no matter what. It wouldn’t be worth it. He was very against violence and hurting others. He knew from past experiences that getting hurt was not fun.

Realizing that he was spacing off, he came back to reality. His head tilted to the side and stared at the empty beach. To his surprise, the smaller human named Sei was there. He was sitting by the shore and humming to himself.

“Se-”

“Sei!”

What?

That was certainly not Aoba’s voice… instead it was-

“Mizu!”

Mizuki?

This was certainly new.

From afar, he spied on them.

Sei was dipping his toes into the cold water and had a small smile on his face. He was wearing a pair of white shorts with a light blue tank top. This was sort of surprising since he seemed to be cold before. Then again, he did fall into the water. It would only make sense that he should have worn a jacket of some sort.

Mizuki was near the shallow waters and had a goofy smile on his face. He started to talk to Sei and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly as they laughed over something.

That was strange....

Swimming, he went near where they were. Clear popped his head out of the water and waved to the two.

"Sei! Mizuki! What are you guys doing here?" The albino beamed happily.

"Oh- Clear! Aoba wanted to see you but Koujaku kept him behind!" Sei smiled back and tilted his head to the side.

"So, you two know each other?"

"Yeah! Mizuki and I are best friends! Do you know him?"

Mizuki was staring at Clear with dull eyes. Almost with disgust.

"Mizu and I are friends. I met him a few days ago before Aoba came." Sei giggled to himself. "At first, I think that he was trying to get Noiz to go back home. Oh well."

The redhead's brow twitched with annoyance as the conversation went on.

"Oh... Mizuki- You're not uh.... Trying to do that thing that Noiz said, are you?"

"So-Sei!" Mizuki turned his attention back to the doll. "You remember what I told you, right? With this," He held up a piece of normal seaweed."You can put it over your mouth and then breathe underwater. It is special... I got it from somewhere sacred." 

"Woah... Do we seriously have stuff like that down here?" Clear was amazed by the seaweed. 

"Yes. I stole it from Toue... He doesn't know that I have it." The redhead grinned and winked at Clear. "But... I don't think that he would mind it." 

The seaweed looked like.... it was just picked up and pulled off of a plant. Clear was having a difficult time believing that it was magical or anything of the sort. 

"What do I do with it?" Sei questioned with a small tilt of his head. "Do I just put it over my mouth?" 

"...Yep! And then you can go with me and see Noiz and our world below. It'll be fun, princess. Just try it." 

"Okay!"

Gingerly, Sei picked up the piece of seaweed from Mizuki's hands and placed it over his mouth. He inhaled deeply through his nose which made his nostrils flare, and slid into the water. His legs entered the cool waves and soon it was all the way up to his neck since Mizuki was guiding him into the deeper ends of the shallow water. He could feel the merman's hands wrapped around his waist and tugging him in. The scent of the salt burned his nostrils and the taste of the seaweed was disgusting... Before they knew it, Sei was fully emerged under the ocean waves. 

"Is it working, Mizuki?" Clear inquired with a sense of dread. He had followed them in order to see what was going to happen and... Well, he wasn't pleased with what he saw.

Something wasn't right. 

"It is working fine. Just help me out, okay?" 

Sei was struggling. His legs and arms were flailing in the water desperately. His eyes snapped open and burned as soon as the salt hit them. He couldn't breath, he couldn't see, he couldn't leave. Bubbles were flying out of his nose and mouth left and right. The seaweed had moved away from his lips. He was drowning. 

"M-Mizuki, I don't think this is working..." Clear started again. "I think he is  _dying."  
_

"I know. That's the point. Look- I really like this human... I want to keep him her with me forever. Besides- Noiz really wanted legs... So, it is a win-win situation. I can finally have a family... I have always wanted one you know. This human and I can do so much together." Mizuki looked down at the limp body in his arms. 

His tanned hands caressed the human's chin and slid upwards into his hair. It felt soft to his touch. 

"Besides... this human is cute." 

Not understanding, Clear stared at Mizuki with concern. 

"But- This is Aoba's brother... Won't he miss him?" 

"Of course he will. But you've been talking to him, haven't you?" 

"Yeah...?" 

"Just take him here. I'm sure that someone would want to take his legs. And then.... He can get his own tail with help." 

"Help from who...?" 

"Shiroba of course. He knows a bunch of stuff that he steals from Toue. Ah- But you have to understand that he will want something from you too." Mizuki smirked. "And lucky for me, I have a crap load of shiny things he will like." 

This was anything but music to his ears. He really didn't want this to happen- It seemed... wrong. He looked at Sei who was probably dying from the water in his lungs and shook his head. 

"This is a human, Mizuki! Humans are meant to stay on the land and learn how to do... Human things! Not merfolk things- What will Noiz even do with the legs anyway!? This is crazy! Plus, you know that Shiroba is bad news, right? This is bad! Really bad!" Clear whined softly as he felt a great sense of compassion for Sei. "Aoba loves him! You shouldn't just take him into somewhere where he doesn't belong! He... He's a human!" 

"He won't be human for long, you know." Mizuki shrugged and stretched his tail outwards. The reds began to look like the shade of blood rather than their other color. "Soon he will be one of us... Something better." He placed his hands under the strange cloth layer of skin that the doll was wearing. "Soon, he will be one of us." 

The skin under the shirt was extremely pale and smooth- Without any sort of marking or flaw. There were no strange scales, no freckles from the sun and no injuries. The albino felt a tad jealous of how beautiful it was. 

"Look at him, Mizuki... He is pretty- Not.... Not weird like I am..." Clear looked down at his hands that were scarred and had hints of deformed scales along his webbing. "He's like a doll..." 

"I don't have a family," Mizuki glared at Clear. "He will be part of my family, okay? Why are you so against this? This is my only chance! If you get out of my way now, then maybe we can work something out  _later._ I want to do something with him  _now._ Got it? This is important to me!"  _  
_

"I..." 

Sei's body floated in the water pathetically. 

"I... don't want you to be lonely..."

"I'm glad that you understand." 

"Y-yeah..." 

* * *

 

"Sei? Seeeeiiiii?" Aoba called out for his brother in a loud voice. "Sei! Where are you!?" 

Silence filled the house.

Sei was no where to be found.

"Granny- Have you seen Sei?" Aoba barged into the living room and crossed his arms. "I feel like something bad happened to him..."

"What? Don't be silly. Sei told me he was going to the beach for some fresh air. He is responsible- More than you." Tae rolled her eyes at Aoba as she reclined back into the couch. "He will be fine." 

"I hope so... I also hope Koujaku doesn't come back for a while. There's something I want to do." Aoba sighed and placed his attention out the window. 

"The high tide is coming in." 

 


	6. Whirling

Clear watched carefully as Sei was slowly dragged deeper and deeper into the water. He watched as the human’s body slowly became player and player until he was the same color as sand. Mizuki didn’t seem to mind dragging him down there and fighting the need for him to float up to the surface. Silently, gracefully, and rather strangely, they made it into an extremely cold area within the ocean. Clear had never been in that part for certain reasons- Mostly because Shiroba was there… But also, he was warned to never go there. He did not belong.

He wished that he could go save Sei… He really did. But, he knew that this was important for Mizuki. This was also a very important learning experience for him too. He needed to see what type of magic was real and what was nothing more than a fake. Like that seaweed for example. Mizuki must have told Sei so many lies about it just to drown him. Sadly enough, Sei believed in it. What a mistake that was…he didn’t want to hurt anyone. No, never. Hurting people were the same as hurting merfolk or his friends. He didn’t want to do that.

The water was cold as ice and the growth in that area looked like it was completely black from the lack of sunlight. Clear was terrified. There were shark rocks and deathly looking sharks swimming back and forth slowly. From a distance, he could see a white figure like an apparition from the corner of his eyes. Of course, that was only one person…

“Huh? What the hell are you doing here?” Shiroba bared his teeth and hissed his words out viciously. First, his icy blue orbs landed on Clear, in which he stared at him with disgust. Then, his glance shifted to Mizuki. The glaring stopped and he smirked instead. “So, you really came, huh? And you even brought me a little human… You’re late though.” The long haired beauty reclined backwards on his rock. “Noiz is already here.”

“Noiz is here? Where…?” Clear asked with a small frown on his face. How come did it seem like all of his friends were aware of this weird thing happening while he wasn’t? This was... really weird.

"Yeah, idiot. Noiz is over there." Shiroba tilted his head to the left and Noiz poked his head out from around a large boulder. "He's working on something for me."

"I see..."

"Mizuki, bring him here. I want to see that human you have brought to me." The shark smiled in a way that made Clear's stomach flip.

"Of course, Shiroba." Mizuki brought the small human over to the other and placed him down in his lap. "I want him to be apart of my family. He's perfect... You know? Look at him. He's beautiful."

"He's... okayish. Whatever. I look better than this." Wrapping his arms around the human's neck and rolled his eyes. "He looks like he will be a pain... Noiz, come here."

Noiz dropped whatever he was doing into the sand and a large cloud of the sand rose up. It created a dusty and dark feeling.

"Okay."

"Go for it, Noiz."

The blond waded his way through the water and lowered his head. He pressed his head against the human's legs and waited.

The albino shark whistled and his beast came. The red monster placed it's nails against the pale legs that the human and sunk his teeth into one. He pulled and pulled with his nails seeping deep into the flesh. Noiz remained there and watched as the blood began to spill into their water. The clear water turned into a  dark red.

Clear turned to glance at Mizuki and frowned. He was lowering his head and seemed to give Shiroba some sort of respectful gesture with his hands.

The other freeloading fish around them began to frenzie. They circled around the area in a quicker motion. The water was now cloudy with the blood and everything seemed to be going black.

The plain merman stared down at the prey in Shiroba’s lap with tears in his eyes. This was not what he thought was going to happen. He really didn’t want to hurt Sei… He just wanted everyone to be happy. Not this.

Next, Shiroba’s monster took a slash at Noiz’s tail. Noiz didn’t flinch at all or move. It was almost like he couldn’t feel anything wrong with it. The scent of iron filled the water and the blue and red mixed into a light purple. The shimmery blue blood flowed out from the blond’s tail at ease.

Then, Shiroba took in a deep breath through his gills and took in the mix of purple. His skin seemed to absorb the color.His entire body became more of a purple than white- All except for his ice blue eyes that sent a shiver down Clear’s spine.

Finally, Shiorba turned his head towards the surface and chanted a small spell. His eyes glowed and his hair seemed like it was fading like the smoke in the sky from the humans.

"Ｈｕｍａｎ ｆｅｅｔ ｔｈａｔ ｂｉｎｄ ｔｈｅｅ ｔｏ ｌａｎｄ

Ｎｏ ｌｏｎｇｅｒ ｗｈｅｎ ｗｅｔ Ｉ ｐａｒｔ ｆｒｏｍ ｔｈｅ ｓａｎｄ

Ｏｎ ｔｈｅ ｎｉｇｈｔ ｏｆ ｆｕｌｌ ｍｏｏｎ

Ｉ ｗｉｌｌ ｂｅ ｉｎ ａ ｔｒａｎｃｅ ｓｏｏｎ

ａｆｔｅｒ Ｉ ｌｏｏｋ

Ｉｎ ｔｈｅ ｅｙｅ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ ｍｏｏｎ"

Noiz looked up along with Shiroba and began to choke. His eyes burned from the salt water seeping through his eyes. The faint filter of his third eyelid began to eat away at itself until it was no longer there. Noiz’s fins were seeping out their dark blue color from the blood parting.

“Noiz, you have to go up for air now. It is complete. Hurry before you drown.” Shiroba commanded in a strong voice.

The blond quickly began to swim towards the surface at a rapid pace It was difficult to do since he was at the bottom of the ocean, but-

The red beast took hold of Noiz’s scrawny arms and rapidly began to swim up to the surface. Meanwhile, the blond’s mouth was starting to open with bundles of bubbles floating out.

Noiz’s tail was starting to get eaten up by the water. The brilliant green and black scales that Clear admired so much were falling to the pit below. Each scale looked like a piece of the sun falling since they glittered as they spun down. It looked like Noiz was starting to become more of a peach color too. His lightly slimed skin of green turned into a flesh tone along with the feet starting to form. At least, that was what it looked like to Clear.

“Mizuki… I think something’s wr-” The albino started to sputter but halted.

Nothing was wrong at all.

Sei’s limp body began to jolt in Shiroba’s arms. The human’s skin tinted blue and his neck opened in small slits. There were three on either side. His fingers had a small webbing of fins in between them. Each of his small fingers began to move as if adjusting to the new feeling. The nails on the human were sharper now- So were his teeth as he opened his mouth.

Clear was shocked at the sight. He himself, did not look that scary. Sei looked more like Shiroba than an actual merperson… Perhaps he had been turned into a seirin. Well- Clear hadn’t seen many of those types around, but he was pretty sure that Shiroba and the beast were something like it. He was sure that Toue made them somehow…

“--Ah”

A small gasp removed Clear from his thoughts. Looking back at Sei, he knitted his brows together with concern.

Mizuki smiled wide and reached his hands out to Sei.

“Sei… Are you okay?”

The new merman swayed his tail back and forth. His tail was in frills and ribbons of black. They did not shine with the sunlight. THe scariest part was that Sei’s eyes did not shine either. They were black. Pitch black. They were similar to the soulless black eyes that a dead fish would give. His long black lashes batted slowly with each blink.

Glancing upwards at Shiroba, who was now pure white, Sei narrowed his eyes.

“Thank you…”

“Any time, my precious angel.” Shiroba cooed back.

Mizuki helped Sei up with ease. Their fingertips pressed against each other and Sei’s expression was blank.

“Mizuki, did you do this for me? I don’t feel sick anymore.”

Filled with joy, Mizuki grinned stupidly and squeezed Sei’s hands.

“Of course I did, princess. I hated seeing you in so much pain everyday… I just wanted you to be safe here with me. You know? It’s much better down here.”

“Is it? Mizu, I don’t think Aoba will like this…” Sei’s bangs covered the side of his face. “Can you take him down here too? I really love my beloved little brother…”

“Maybe we can talk about this with h-”

“No! Aoba must stay above! I don’t want him to die!” Clear interrupted with a loud whine. “Aoba is a human and he needs to stay there! No matter what!”

“Why?” Sei pressed his chest against Mizuki’s and wrapped his arms around his neck. “Don’t you want him to be happy? My dearest little brother is unhappy on land… Don’t you want him to be happy?” His dead eyes settled into Clear’s crystal pink ones.

“But… You don’t seem happy either…” Clear twiddled his thumbs. “What will happen to Noiz?” He was going to miss one of his close friends.

“Noiz will have to deal with being a human. It is no longer our problem.” Shiroba replied. “Pay me sooner or later, mkay Mizuki? Or else… I might have to take this cutie myself.”

Sei squeezed his body against Mizuki’s even tighter. “Can we go somewhere else? I’m tired…”

“Of course, princess. Let’s go back to my place.”

* * *

It's been close to five days. 

Aoba has been frantic. Granny has gotten sick. Koujaku is at a loss. 

"Sei..." The blue haired male's eyes watered for who knows how many times. He continuously looked down at his phone with the last picture that they took together. Aoba had taken a selfie with Sei. They were goofing around and were making a silly face. Sei had put rabbit ears behind Aoba with his fingers and Aoba was planting a kiss on the side of his face. 

He missed his brother. 

He missed seeing his black hair tangled from sleep. He missed hugging him as they napped. He missed reading him stories. He missed talking to him. He missed walking along the beach with him. He missed hearing about stories at the hospital. He missed how he spent most of his time with Sei. He missed Sei's sparkling black eyes. He missed his milky white skin. He missed him. He missed him so badly. 

Every time he thought about his brother, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. 

What if he could have saved him? Was he okay? Was Sei lost? Was he kidnapped? Did he get whisked away into the sea? Did he get stuck in a whirl pool? What if he ran away? Did someone want money for him? Was he okay? Was he alive? Was he dead? What if- 

Curling up into a ball, Aoba weeped silently to himself. 

Ever since Sei had gone missing, Granny had gotten sick with worry. She was bed ridden and probably did not have the strength to look for him anymore. Aoba had to take care of her while Koujaku posted fliers and posters of Sei. They had called every number they knew and spoke to every person they saw. 

Gaining some strength, Aoba wiped his eyes and inhaled deep breaths to calm himself. 

He stood up and calmed himself. He needed to be strong- For Sei. He needed to find him. Storming down the hallway, he went straight out the door and desperately tried to think about where he could possibly be. Aoba had gone down to the small beach before, but Sei was not there. Maybe he could try again. 

Finally reaching the spot where they had the surreal experiences with the merpeople, he gazed out on the clear water. 

"Sei! Please be okay!" He screamed. 

The young man covered his eyes once more and sobbed to himself. He really hopped that Sei was okay. 

"Sei, I love you so much... Be safe..." 

Unexpectedly, someone cleared their throat from behind. 

Looking behind him, Aoba saw a large man with a pink bird on his shoulder. He was smoking a pipe and had a gruff expression plastered on his face. The man held out a poster of Sei in front of Aoba's face. 

"You are looking for this boy, aren't you?" His deep voice boomed. 

"Y-yeah... Have you seen him?" Aoba's eyes were filled with hope. 

The man went silent. 

"...Yes. I have."

"You have!? Where!?" Aoba beamed and stood up suddenly. "Please tell me where! I want to see my brother again!" 

He pointed to the sea. 

"That thing... It is no longer your brother." 

"I don't understand..." 

"It's a  _demon._ "


End file.
